Amazon is reportedly buying large quantities of secondhand and rare books, cutting off their bindings and scanning the pages for artificial intelligence development. A tracking device placed by 404 Media in a book from a bulk Biblio order led to an Amazon warehouse complex in Las Vegas, where workers describe an operation dedicated to scanning …
Google’s AI-generated search summaries are intensifying concerns about the reliability and long-term accessibility of online information. Vass Bednar writes for The Walrus that incorrect AI answers, disappearing webpages and weakened archives could undermine the internet’s role as a public record. Google’s AI Overviews place a generated answer between users and the original source. Bednar points …
Spotify plans to introduce labels for artist profiles that it determines do not represent real people. Starting in mid-September, profiles identified as artificial identities will receive an “AI Persona” badge across the streaming service. Emma Roth reports for The Verge that the platform will also keep music from these profiles out of editorial selections and …
Text watermarks intended to identify AI generated content can be removed with simple editing or paraphrasing, according to an analysis of upcoming European rules. Sean Goedecke writes in his personal blog that this creates a basic challenge for providers preparing for the EU AI Act’s transparency requirements. The Act’s Article 50 is widely expected to …
Amazon is investing in a natural gas power plant in West Texas designed to supply a planned artificial intelligence data center. The project could become the largest single source of climate pollution in the United States if it operates at the limits set by its permits. Permits reviewed by Cleanview show that the facility in …
OpenAI’s ChatGPT is now declining requests to write in the exact style of well known authors, instead offering text based on broader characteristics such as mood, genre and narrative approach. Kyle Orland reports for Ars Technica that the change affects prompts referring to both living and deceased writers, including Stephen King, J.K. Rowling, Amy Tan, …
Suno is preparing new watermarking, fingerprinting and download controls intended to make AI generated music easier to identify and harder to misuse at scale. Terrence O’Brien reports for The Verge that the company outlined the plans in a blog post by chief executive and co founder Mikey Shulman. The measures respond to concerns that AI …
YouTuber and author Hank Green says he plans to slow his video output after acknowledging that his growing use of AI chatbots has become unhealthy. Anthony Ha reports for TechCrunch that Green apologized to his audience and said he needs to better control both his production pace and his impulses around large language models. The …
Google’s SynthID watermark can remain detectable after severe image compression, resizing and screenshots, but it cannot reliably distinguish authentic media from the growing volume of unlabeled AI content. Ryan Whitwam writes for Ars Technica that tests of images generated and edited with Google AI found SynthID still detectable after 300 rounds of simulated sharing and …
LinkedIn has introduced a reporting option that lets users flag posts or comments that “seem like AI slop.” Joseph Cox reports for 404 Media that the option appears in the three dot menu attached to posts. When users select it, LinkedIn thanks them for the feedback and hides the flagged post from their feed. The …